Q&A – TSA’s Implementation of Facial Recognition Screening
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Today’s Entry: Hey Brian, as always, a good job. So why did I have to get facial recognition at Ft Myers airport yesterday? I would think DeSantis, if he could not split, or are they targeting conservative Florida. Very upsetting.
Bottom Line: I have good news for you regarding why you were screened using facial recognition technology, and based upon your expressed displeasure with it, good news for you when it comes to your future travels. What you experienced at the Fort Myers Municipal Airport doesn’t have anything to do with politics. It does have to do with the TSA’s preferred approach for security screening going forward. Starting in 2018, the TSA began the rollout of what they call the Traveler Verification Service. As noted by the TSA at the time: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is congressionally mandated to deploy a biometric entry/exit system to record arrivals and departures to and from the United States. Following several years of testing and pilots, CBP has successfully operationalized and deployed facial recognition technology, now known as the Traveler Verification Service (TVS), to support comprehensive biometric entry and exit procedures in the air, land, and sea environments.
Regarding the purported benefit of facial screening according to the TSA they say: The facial recognition technology represents a significant security enhancement and improves traveler convenience. The facial recognition technology TSA uses helps ensure the person standing at the checkpoint is the same person pictured on the identification document (ID) credential.
After a few years of isolated testing at select airports, the TSA rolled out the biometric facial screening to 60 different airports with a stated goal of rolling it out to over 400 airports nationally. That rollout has now reached 238 airports across 47 states throughout the country. Additionally, most US territories have airports with facial screening in place. There are also 14 international locations where it’s in use for entry into the US. There are currently 26 airports in Florida which have facial screening in use including all of the state’s busiest airports (Orlando International, Miami International, Tampa International and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International). Boca Raton Airport and Palm Beach International in the Palm Beaches. Additionally, the Treasure Coast International Airport and Orlando-Melbourne International Airport have the biometric screening system in place as well.
As for the concerns about data collection... Here’s what TSA says about it:
- Only during the field demonstration data collection efforts, TSA collects a live photograph of the passenger, passport number, known traveler number, transactional metadata (e.g., transaction ID, timestamps, quality scores), and the match results.
- TSA converts the information into an anonymized format, encrypts it, and transfers it for temporary analysis to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science & Technology Directorate (S&T), which assesses the effectiveness of this biometric field demonstration. DHS deletes the data within 180 days.
I mentioned at the onset that there’s good news for those who don’t want to be screened using the newer facial recognition system. You don’t have to do it. According to the TSA: Participation is optional. Passengers who have consented to participate may choose to opt-out at any time and instead go through the standard identity verification process by a Transportation Security Officer. Maybe that won't always be the case, but there’s currently no conversation about mandatory participation. So that’s the deal. You’ll be seeing more of the facial screening setups when you fly going forward. But if you don’t want them to see you – you don’t have to...that is unless you’re undocumented.
In a development which just broke over the weekend, the TSA issued this statement: If a noncitizen released after undergoing security vetting into the United States does not have an acceptable form of ID, they must submit to additional screening and facial recognition technology to verify the traveler’s identity using DHS records. That was in response to the growing security concerns that millions of people lacking legal status in this country have been allowed to fly without as much security scrutiny as legal citizens. It’s very much a sign of the Biden border times kind of story.